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Preliminary sale agreement template for France

Preliminary sale agreementCompromis de vente (promesse synallagmatique de vente)

A bilateral contract in which the seller agrees to sell and the buyer agrees to buy at a fixed price, subject to conditions such as the buyer's loan. The buyer pays a deposit into escrow. A private buyer of a home can withdraw within 10 days. A notary then signs the deed of sale.

Use it once the seller has accepted an offer and both parties want to commit before the deed of sale. Most sales of existing homes go through a compromis or a promesse unilatérale de vente. Ask a notary to draft or review it: the notary must collect many annexes, and a private draft often misses a mandatory one. Use a promesse unilatérale instead when the seller alone commits and the buyer only gets an option to buy.

Reviewed October 28, 2026. Not legal advice. Have a notary or lawyer check your case before you sign.

Key facts

Applies to
Whole country (in Bas-Rhin, Haut-Rhin and Moselle the land register is the livre foncier)
Buyer's withdrawal period
10 days for a non-professional buyer of a home, from the day after the first presentation of the registered letter (CCH art. L271-1).
Payments during withdrawal period
None, unless a mandated professional assists the sale and the money goes to a professional with a financial guarantee (CCH art. L271-2).
Refund after withdrawal
The guaranteed professional refunds the sum within 21 days from the day after withdrawal (CCH art. L271-2).
Deposit (dépôt de garantie)
Not required by law. Service-Public.fr gives 10% of the price as usual, held in the notary's escrow account.
Loan condition
Implied when the price is financed by a loan. It must run for at least 1 month (Code de la consommation art. L313-41).
Promesse unilatérale, private deed
Void unless registered within 10 days of acceptance (Code civil art. 1589-2).
Promise over 18 months
Must be a notarial deed if the seller is an individual (CCH art. L290-1).
Carrez area (copropriété)
If the real area is more than 1/20 smaller, the buyer can claim a pro rata price cut within 1 year of the deed (loi n° 65-557, art. 46).

The document

Text shown

You sign the French version. The English version helps you understand it. Your answers fill both.

Preliminary sale agreement

  1. 1.Parties

    1. 1.1

      The seller: Seller's identity, hereinafter "the seller".

      For each seller, give full name, date and place of birth, nationality, marital status and regime, and address.

    2. 1.2

      The buyer: Buyer's identity, hereinafter "the buyer".

      Give the same details for each buyer. A spouse may need to consent to a sale of the family home even when only one spouse owns it.

    3. 1.3

      The seller undertakes to sell to the buyer, who undertakes to buy, subject to the conditions precedent below, the property described below.

  2. 2.Description of the property

    1. 2.1

      A property located at Full address of the property, recorded in the cadastre under references Cadastral references, consisting of Description of the property.

      Copy the section, number and area of each parcel from the title deed or cadastre.gouv.fr.

    2. 2.2

      Copropriété lots: Copropriété lots. Area of the private part within the meaning of article 46 of loi n° 65-557 of 10 July 1965: Carrez area m².

      For a copropriété lot, the Carrez area from the surveyor's certificate is mandatory. Cellars, garages and parking spaces are exempt.

  3. 3.Origin of title and mortgages

    1. 3.1

      The seller declares that the seller owns the property, having acquired it Origin of title.

      State how and when the seller acquired the property, and the notary who signed that deed.

    2. 3.2

      The seller undertakes to provide, no later than the day of the sale, the release of any mortgage or lien registered against the property, at the seller's cost.

    3. 3.3

      The seller declares that, to the seller's knowledge, the property is subject to no easement other than those arising from the natural situation of the site, from the law or from planning rules.

  4. 4.Price and payment

    1. 4.1

      The sale is agreed at the price of Total price in euros, in figures euros (Total price in words euros), of which Furniture part of the price euros is for the furniture and movable items on the annexed list.

      Attach an itemised list with realistic values. Leave the furniture share at 0 if nothing is sold with the property.

    2. 4.2

      The price will be paid in full on the day the deed of sale is signed, by bank transfer to the notary. Agency fees: Agency fees and who pays them.

  5. 5.Deposit

    1. 5.1

      The buyer will pay the sum of Deposit euros as a deposit to Escrow holder, acting as escrow holder, after the end of the withdrawal period under article L271-1 of the Construction and Housing Code, unless the payment is made to a mandated professional who holds a financial guarantee.

      The notary usually holds the deposit. An agent may hold it only with a financial guarantee. A private buyer pays no one else before the 10 days end.

    2. 5.2

      This sum will be credited against the price at completion. It will be returned to the buyer if any condition precedent fails. It will be kept by the seller if, all conditions being met, the buyer refuses to sign the deed of sale.

      If the parties set a later payment date and amount, the contract is conditional on that payment.

  6. 6.General conditions precedent

    1. 6.1

      The sale is subject to the following conditions precedent, stipulated for the benefit of the buyer: that the seller's title deed and the planning documents reveal no easement or charge that reduces the value of the property or makes it unfit for its use; that the mortgage search reveals no registration exceeding the price; and that no holder of a pre-emption right exercises that right.

      The notary sends the pre-emption notice (déclaration d'intention d'aliéner) to the town. If the town is silent for 2 months, it waives its right.

  7. 7.Loan condition

    1. 7.1

      In accordance with articles L313-40 et seq. of the Consumer Code, the buyer declares that the price will be financed by one or more loans for a maximum amount of Maximum loan amount euros, over a maximum term of Maximum loan term years, at a maximum nominal rate of Nominal rate cap, without insurance% excluding insurance.

    2. 7.2

      The sale is subject to the condition precedent that this loan or these loans are obtained no later than Date the loan condition ends. The buyer undertakes to file at least one loan application matching the terms above no later than Deadline to apply for the loan and to give proof of it to the seller.

      The law requires at least 1 month from signature. Keep the bank's written answers.

    3. 7.3

      If the condition is not met within this period, each party will be released and the deposit will be returned to the buyer immediately and in full, without deduction or compensation. The condition will be deemed met if the buyer prevents it from being met.

    4. 7.4

      If the buyer pays without a loan, the buyer copies out by hand the following statement: "I acknowledge that I have been informed that if I nevertheless take out a loan, I cannot rely on articles L313-40 et seq. of the Consumer Code."

      Use either the loan clauses or this handwritten statement, not both. Without the statement, a loan you later request is a condition of the sale.

  8. 8.Planning condition

    1. 8.1

      The sale is also subject to the following condition precedent: Planning condition, if any.

      If your plans depend on a permit, set dates to apply and for the permit to become final after the third-party appeal period.

  9. 9.Ownership and possession

    1. 9.1

      The buyer will become the owner of the property on the day the deed of sale is signed. The buyer will have possession from the same day, by actual taking of possession, the property being free of any occupant.

      If a tenant occupies the property, say so here and attach the lease. The buyer then takes over the lease.

  10. 10.Charges and terms

    1. 10.1

      The buyer will take the property in its condition on the day of the sale. The seller, who is not a property professional, will not be liable for hidden defects, unless the seller knew of them and except where the law forbids this exclusion.

      If a mandatory diagnostic (lead, asbestos, termites, gas, electricity, sewage) is missing or out of date at the deed, this exclusion does not cover that defect.

    2. 10.2

      The property tax for the current year will be shared between the seller and the buyer pro rata to the time each owns the property. Copropriété charges will be shared in accordance with the law and the copropriété rules.

  11. 11.Annexed documents

    1. 11.1

      Annexed to this agreement is the technical diagnostics file under article L271-4 of the Construction and Housing Code, containing the diagnostics required for the property, including the energy performance certificate, the energy audit if required, and the risk report.

    2. 11.2

      For a copropriété lot, the buyer acknowledges having received, no later than today, the documents and information listed in article L721-2 of the same Code, by a document the buyer dates and signs by hand.

      If these documents arrive after signature, the 10-day withdrawal period starts only the day after they arrive.

  12. 12.Completion by notarial deed

    1. 12.1

      The sale will be completed by a deed received by Maître Notary who will sign the deed of sale, notary, no later than Latest date to sign the deed of sale. The costs of the deed will be paid by the buyer.

      Each party may appoint its own notary. Name both here if they are known.

    2. 12.2

      This date is not a deadline that ends the contract. If one party refuses to complete when all conditions are met, the other party may serve formal notice and then, at its choice, seek specific performance of the sale or its termination.

  13. 13.Penalty clause

    1. 13.1

      If one party, after formal notice that has no effect, does not complete the deed of sale when all conditions are met, it will pay the other party the sum of Penalty euros as a penalty, without prejudice to specific performance.

      A party who refuses to complete once all conditions are met owes it. A judge can reduce a penalty that is manifestly excessive.

  14. 14.Right of withdrawal

    1. 14.1

      The buyer, who is not a professional, may withdraw within ten days from the day after the first presentation of the registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt notifying this agreement, or from the day after it is handed over by the mandated professional, as recorded in the regulatory form.

      The 10 days are calendar days. Send the withdrawal well before the last day.

    2. 14.2

      The withdrawal is notified to the seller, or to the mandated professional, by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt or by any other means with equivalent guarantees, before this period ends. The buyer need not give a reason. Any sums paid are returned within twenty-one days from the day after the withdrawal.

  15. 15.Signatures

    1. 15.1

      Made at Place of signature, on Date of signature, in Number of originals originals, one given to each party. Signature of the seller. Signature of the buyer.

      Each seller and buyer initials every page and signs the last. Make one original per party, plus one for the notary.

Formalities

  1. Put it in writing, as a private deed, a lawyer-countersigned deed or a notarial deed. Each party signs.
  2. A private paper deed needs one original per party. A scanned signature is not valid.
  3. The seller hands over the diagnostics file and, for a flat, the copropriété documents by the date of signature.
  4. Notify the signed contract to a private buyer of a home by registered letter, or the mandated agent hands it over against a dated receipt.
  5. The buyer's 10-day withdrawal period starts the day after the first presentation of that letter, or after the handover.
  6. A compromis needs no registration. A promesse unilatérale signed privately must be registered with the tax office within 10 days of acceptance.

Common mistakes

  • Signing before you get the diagnostics file and, for a flat, the copropriété documents. Until they arrive, the 10-day withdrawal period does not start.
  • Paying the deposit to the seller directly. Pay it into the notary's escrow account, or to the agent only if the agent holds a financial guarantee.
  • Setting an unrealistic loan rate or amount. If the bank refuses on terms never achievable, the seller can say you blocked the condition and claim the penalty.
  • Missing the deadline to apply for the loan or to send the bank's refusal. Keep proof of each application. Send refusals to the seller and the notary at once.
  • Signing a private promesse unilatérale electronically. It cannot be registered, so it is void. Use a notary for it.
  • Ignoring pre-emption. The town can buy first at the notice price or offer less. Without agreement, a court fixes the price. Make non-exercise a condition.
  • Planning a tight timetable. The town has 2 months to decide, suspended while it asks for documents or a visit.
  • Forgetting the Carrez area for a flat in a copropriété. Without it the buyer can ask to cancel the contract.

Legal basis

Sources

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